


The Mercury in Your Veins

by ghoulaesthetics



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Tokyo Ghoul, But mostly fluff, M/M, Tokyo Ghoul AU, might do something more with this au later? for now it's just this one shot, mild gore descriptions i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-15
Updated: 2016-04-15
Packaged: 2018-06-02 10:42:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6563101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghoulaesthetics/pseuds/ghoulaesthetics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Can I see it?”</p><p>Asahi blinked, one, twice, and stared at his boyfriend in mild disbelief.</p><p>After all, asking to see a Ghoul's kagune was, well, personal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Mercury in Your Veins

**Author's Note:**

> "so what inspired this one?"
> 
> "oh, you know, volleyball and cannibalism"

“Can I see it?”

Asahi blinked, one, twice, and stared at his boyfriend in mild disbelief.

After all, asking to see a Ghoul's kagune was, well, _personal._

Or rather, it seemed to be that way to Asahi. So far, the only people who'd see it had been his unfortunate victims, or a few of his Ghoul friends, during sparring matches. So of course it would seem oddly personal to him, even though they were lying in bed facing each other, still naked from that morning's lazy sex, drifting in and out of a peaceful sleep, drowsy from the warmth of the other's body. Really, the fact that they had just finished doing things that were unspeakable in polite company should have made it so that Asahi expected anything that could come out of Noya's mouth. But this question caught him off guard. He'd never expressed interest in Asahi's Ghoul side, except perhaps concern when Asahi came home a little later than usual from his feedings, Noya fearing the worst. But other than that, there was no difference in their relationship than that of two humans.

“Asahi?” Noya asked, rolling slightly and pushing himself up into a sitting position so that he could look down on him. “Did you hear me?”

Asahi let his head sink back into the pillows and looked up at Noya. From his low vantage point, Noya's eyes seemed particularly alert, and in the mid-morning sunlight, Noya seemed to have a soft glow emitting from his skin. “Yeah,” he said, nodding as best he could in his position. “I heard you. I'm just... I guess I'm just a little surprised. Wasn't expecting the tough questions so early in the morning.” He cracked a smile at his boyfriend, who was now sporting an impish grin of his own.

“I just had your dick in my mouth, and that's a tough question?” Noya laughed.

Asahi propped himself into a half-sit, leaning on his elbows. “Well yeah, Yuu. It's a bit out of no where, don't you think?”

Noya shrugged and shook his head playfully. “Don't care, wanna see. Please?” He was borderline pouting now, and he knew damn well Asahi was weak for that.

Asahi sighed deeply and sat up for real, the thin blue blanket bunching around his waist. A few stray strands of hair fell into his face, and Noya reached over on instinct to tuck them behind his ear. Asahi found himself pushing subconsciously into the touch. He loved Noya's small gestures of affection.

“I guess so.” He smiled softly. “I mean, it's not like you're going to turn me over to the CCG or anything, right? There's no harm, I guess.”

 

* * *

 

 

Asahi clutched the gaping wound on his side, cursing to himself as he pawed frantically through his bathroom cabinets. He'd heal up, he knew he would, but as of that moment he was losing too much blood for his liking. He needed something to plug up the hole, anything, it didn't matter. Dizziness from blood loss aside, he was also aware at all of this mess would need to be cleaned before Noya came home. The thought of Noya seeing him in this state wasn't exactly appealing to him. And it certainly wasn't how he had intended to tell him that his boyfriend of nearly two years was a Ghoul.

Panicked at the thought of Noya seeing him now caused him to knock over the contents of the bottom two cabinet shelves, pills and toiletries spilling on the floor. His side throbbed in pain. He had gotten careless earlier, letting himself relax too much while he was hunting and feeding. Had he not been so engrossed in his meal (Noya had been insisting on feeding him human food lately, claiming that he was starting to become gaunt, and while it was wreaking havoc on Asahi's system, he had a facade he needed to keep up, and besides, it made Noya happy when he ate his cooking), he might've noticed the female Ghoul come up behind him, itching to take his prey from him and run him out of the ward. He would've been able to react faster than he had, and would have missed the first few stabs from her koukaku, and saved himself a whole lot of blood loss.

But he hadn't. He had been far too hungry to be paying much attention to his surroundings, and although he had managed to get the fatal shot on her and scramble away, before the CCG was alerted, it hand't changed the fact that he had gotten himself hurt. The second he'd stepped through the apartment door and let up some of the pressure he was putting on it, the blood rapidly flowed out, painting his side and leg, ruining his jeans in the process.

He had finally located the gauze that was stored at the back of the cabinets, and wasted no time in unwinding it and stuffing as much as he possibly could in the bloody hole. It didn't have to be perfect, it just had to be plugged up temporarily, before the healing process began. It would also give him time enough to start mopping up some of the blood trail that he'd left behind in the apartment. It was a direct path from the front door to the bathroom, with the majority of the mess being in the bathroom. He was suddenly very grateful for the ugly tile flooring that he had previously despised with a burning passion when they had first moved in. It would making wiping this down much easier.

When he was fairly certain his wound was at least clotting, he got to work looking for paper towels and bleach under his sink, wincing occasionally as the skin stretched and pulled. The bleach was located relatively easily, but the paper towel took a bit longer to locate. He needed to move as quickly as possible, knowing he had maybe half an hour before Noya came home from work.

Only, he didn't have that much time. As soon as his hand found the paper towel, he heard the front door click open. His entire body tensed and he jumped from his squatted position on the floor, banging his head on the counter top and swearing loudly. Of _course,_ Noya would be home early. Of course there would still be more blood than a murder scene, and of _course_ his kakugan would still be activated (having more active RC cells in his system tended to speed healing slightly). What sort of evening was he expecting? An easy one? No, the promise of smooth sailing was out the window the exact second that Asahi had lost his left kidney to a scavenger Ghoul. He stayed frozen in his place as he listened to Noya, head still throbbing.

Normally, Noya had a loud, cheerful greeting for him. This was not going to be that. Instead, he heard an intake of breath that was audible from the hallway, and frantic calls of “Asahi?? _Asahi!?”_ Noya was running through the small apartment, searching for him and calling out his name. Asahi couldn't bring himself to move, couldn't bring himself to go _Yes, I'm here, I'm fine._ He was more concerned with the conversation that would be taking place next. When he sense Noya in the bathroom door, staring at his back and letting out a deep sigh of relief, he braced himself for what he was about to address. There was no way around it. He was a Ghoul, and there was no other explanation for the scene Noya had walked into when he came in the door.

“Asahi, oh god, oh my god, thank god you're not dead—I--there's so much _blood_? There's blood fucking _everywhere_ and it looks like a massacre in here and _someone_ was here and it obviously wasn't you but I mean you're here so that's good but _holy fuck._ ” His words came out in an uninterrupted, scared rush. “Whose blood is that Asahi? It's not yours, it can't be yours, there's too much—Asahi? God, Asahi, are you _hurt?_ What's that on your side? Asahi? _Asahi?_ Asahi say something, please, I'm freaking the fuck out over here. _Asahi!!_ ”

Asahi hadn't reacted once to what he was saying, or the obvious sound of concern in his voice. _He's going to leave_ , he thought, stomach filling with dread, _He's going to leave and turn me over to the CCG. I lied to him._

Noya lowered down behind him, careful to not kneel in the blood puddle himself. “Asahi,” he said softly; Asahi got the sense that he already had an idea of what was going on here. Noya placed a hesitant hand on his shoulder. “Tell me what this is. You know something.” For someone who had just walked in on a potential murder scene, he was startlingly calm.

Asahi let out a shaking breath, clenching and unclenching his fists reflexively. He decided it was something that he would do quickly. Better to rip the bandaid off fast and get the sting over with quickly, he reasoned. He chose his next words carefully.

“Noya,” he began, deliberately and quietly. “There's something—something I need to show you. It's not... an easy thing for me to do. But it's something that, you know, I've had to deal with since I was born. And I feel like garbage, because I've left it so long and you trust me with everything, but the truth is I had no idea how to tell you.” He took a breath to steady himself. “I'm going to show you something, okay?”

“Okay.” Noya sounded confused, but intrigued. He tightened his grip on Asahi's shoulder, almost protectively.

“I'm going to turn around, and I don't want you to... panic, alright? You're perfectly safe. Just, please—don't scream.”

“Asahi, I'm not going to— _oh.”_

Asahi turned his head to look Noya in the eyes. His kakugan was still activated, and as any person knew, red irises and black sclera could only mean one thing.

_Ghoul._

Noya gaped at him. They held each other's gaze, but for different reasons. Noya, still trying to process this reveal—that his boyfriend, his wonderful, sweet, could-barely-hurt-a-bug boyfriend, was a _Ghoul._ He was a being that required human flesh in order to survive and thrive, and therefore could not be possibly human himself. Asahi was looking at him with hope. Hope that, at the very least, Noya wouldn't have it in his heart to report him to the CCG. He didn't dare believe that Noya would still want to be with him after this. No sane person would.

But then, Noya had never shared most qualities with most sane people anyway.

Asahi broke the silence first. “I'm so—I just want to say this first, before you say anything—I'm so s _orry,_ Noya, that I've kept this, lied to you, essentially, for all these years, I just—I didn't—this isn't a normal relationship thing, you know?” He could feel tears start to sing the backs of his eyes, despite their transformation. He even let out a small laugh at that, though it sounded sad and false to his ears. “And I wanted to tell you, I wanted to tell you so bad, but it was dangerous, and honestly me being with you is just such a risk, but god, I love you too much to stay away, and I figured that if i just kept that part of my life _separate,_ it'd be okay, you know? But things happen that I can't always control—like today—there was a fight and I got hurt, and it didn't heal in time so I had to come home with it and—and—and—”

“I fed you human food. I cooked for you.” Noya cut him off with the startled realization, looking at him with wide eyes.

Asahi turned his body around so that he could better face him. He had never been so confused in his life. His brow creased and he temporarily felt the threat of tears cease. “I—well, yeah, you did.” Asahi shrugged. “You were only trying to do me a favour. I couldn't say no.”

“But _still,_ Asahi.” Noya was looking increasingly stressed out. “ _Human food._ Doesn't that make you really sick? And also cause you pain?”

Another shrug. “Yeah, but it wasn't too bad. I mean, it did taste awful, but it was doable. I always threw it up after.” He felt a little guilty admitting that all of Noya's work for him had gone to waste. “Noya, I really think you're missing the point here. I'm a _Ghoul,_ Noya. You know what those are, right? How can you be so calm right now?” Asahi's own heart was racing like no one's business.

Noya looked nonplussed. “I don't want to say I suspected, but I kinda did. A little. But the eating thing threw me off.” He scrunched his nose at him. “I still can't believe you did that. I feel awful.” He sighed, but then brightened slightly. “Besides, I figured, if you wanted to eat me, you could've done it so many times before now. No offence, but you're not really a threat to me,” he laughed.

Asahi felt relief flood through his entire being. “So you're not going to report me to the CCG?”

“What? No!” Noya looked at him incredulously, almost shocked that he'd even suggest that. “No way. You're stuck with me. And even if, you know, you decide you need to go, I'm still not going to say anything.” Noya grasped one of his sticky, blood-covered hands and brought it to his mouth for a quick peck on the knuckles. “Promise. Scout's honour, or something.”

“I—Okay. Thank you, Noya—no, Yuu—god, I love you so much,” he choked, feeling the tears spring back anew, although this time they were from sheer relief rather than panic. To his surprise, Noya used the hand he was still holding and yanked him down into a tight hug, not caring if his work clothes got stained, and still being mindful of Asahi's wound. Asahi returned it as best as he could with shaking arms, still choking out quiet sobs.

Noya made soothing 'shh'-ing noises, repeating “It's okay, you're okay, I'm not going anywhere,” over an over again, until Asahi's crying subsided. Noya pulled back slightly from the hug, and looked at him with an unmistakable fondness, before pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. “Now come on,” he said, pushing off the floor and offering a hand to Asahi. “You need to lay down or something. And you need fresh clothes, and that,” he said, looking pointedly at Asahi's side, “needs a better wrapping job. Let's go into the living room. You get those clothes off and into a trash bag, and I'll grab you something. We can clean the floor later.”

Asahi let himself be pulled along by Noya. He clutched at his smaller hand desperately, still not wholly believing what was happening, or how relatively easy that had been, or the fact that Noya had been so accepting of it so quickly. The whole situation was positively surreal.

But he certainly wasn't about to question it. Nor did he question it when Noya appeared in the living room after depositing him on the couch with pajamas, a roll of ace bandages, and a bag of cotton balls. “You guys heal fast, right?” He asked, scrunching his nose while he examined the bag of cotton. “Sorry, this is all we had for now, but I figured you won't be needing it too long anyway.”

Asahi shook his head. “A few days, at most.” He accepted the new clothes graciously, his other ones currently being deposited in the trash by Noya as he changed. He sat down on the couch carefully, so as not to open anything up before Noya returned to do a slightly better job of dressing the wound than his hurried fix. As he suspected, Noya didn't really know what he was doing, but that was fine. Even if his patch job was a little sloppy, and the former home of his kidney was now packed with cotton balls, it didn't matter. Noya was here, and he wasn't leaving any time soon.

“Noya?”

“Mm?” There was a look of utter concentration on his face as he focused on tying the bandages somewhat effectively.

“Thank you. For everything.” Asahi reached out for him and drew his face up slightly so that he was looking at him directly. “I mean it. And I really, really do love you.”

Noya grinned and bounced up so that he could give Asahi a quick kiss on the lips. “It's no problem, okay? It's no problem because I love you, too. And I promise never to make you eat any of my food ever again,” he added solemnly, looking utterly sincere and serious.

Asahi laughed hard at that, in a way that he didn't think would be possible after he told Noya about his true nature.

He was, against all odds and despite the gaping hole in his body, happy.

And they were okay.

 

* * *

 

Noya scoffed. “Of course I won't. Just show me already.”

Asahi laughed softly. “Jeez, someone's impatient.” At that, his eyes took on their kakugan form, and from his lower back, his bikaku emerged.

Noya was totally engrossed in the scene before him. Asahi tried to make a show of it, tried to unfurl it slowly and show off the colours and shape. The kagune was a dark, rich blue with streaks of vein-like crimson and violet throughout. It almost looked as it it was glowing.

“Can I touch?” Noya asked eagerly, drinking in the sight and burning it into is memories. Asahi nodded, and soon he felt Noya's exploratory touches all over it. It was strange, to say the least. Normally it only came out to kill and to cause destruction. And yet here was Noya, pressing feather-soft touches to some areas and running his hands curiously over others.

“It feels kind of like a warm snake,” he remarked offhandedly.

Asahi shrugged. “I guess so,” he said, lips tugging into a smile at Noya's fascination. “Never felt one to compare.”

“Me neither, but it's how I imagine it to be.”

Asahi pulled it from Noya's hands, earning a small whine of protest (“I was looking at that, you nerd.”). He curled it lazily around Noya's body, careful not to add more pressure than a hug, and pulled him towards him so that he was sitting on his lap.

“How's this? Can you see it now?” He teased, tightening hs grip just enough so that Noya was pressed against his chest.

Noya laughed and locked his arms around his neck. “Mhm, definitely. But I still think I need more time to, uh, examine it, you know?” He placed three kisses on Asahi's collarbone in quick succession, and then pulled back to look at his face. “Pretty eyes,” he noted softly, lightly tracing the dark parts on his skin from his kakugan.

“You are so weird,” he giggled, ducking his head down and burying his face in Noya's neck.

“What,” Noya began teasingly, “Is the big scary Ghoul thwarted by genuine compliments?”

Asahi could feel Noya's laughter more than he could hear it. He muttered “'M not embarrassed, you're just weird, okay?” Regardless of what he said, though, his face _was_ heating up. Not that it was a bad thing.

Noya idly ran his fingers through his loose hair. “No, no, I think you are. You need to learn how to take compliments, you know. Like right now? I think your kagune is really beautiful. I think _you're_ really beautiful, but this just adds to it, yeah?”

Asahi shrank further into him. “Noya, please. It's a skewer that comes out of my spine. It's not that nice.”

“Yeah it is,” he insisted. “It's also kind of soft. It feel nice like this, Asahi.” At that moment, Noya got a wicked grin on his face. “Plus, if you have control of it, we could totally use it to—”

Asahi snorted. “Noya, _oh my god._ That is not what this thing is for, and it's not why I agreed to show you.”

“Aw, c'mon Asahi. I bet you wouldn't be the first one to try it.”

“No, we would be, because it would literally tear you in half. That's what it's designed for.”

Noya was silent for a moment, considering that. “Totally worth it, though. Wreck my ass, Asahi. I want to go out cumming,” he concluded with finality.

Asahi nearly choked. “Noya, _oh my god._ ”

Noya simply laughed and pressed kisses into the top of his head. “I'm only half-joking, relax. I wouldn't mind more regular sex, though. If you're in the mood.”

He pulled his head up to kiss Noya properly, deeply and languidly, feeling the warmth coming from him and inhaling his scent through his nose. Noya had always smelled good, but he smelled even better with the RC cells singing in his blood. He was intoxicating in every sense of the word.

“Do you even have to ask?” He laughed, retracting his kagune and allowing his eyes to look human again. He leaned back on the pillows and allowed Noya to fully clamour on top of him.

“I love you a lot, have I told you that lately?” Asahi remarked as his hands settled on his waist.

“Yeah,” Noya nodded, looking down at him with what could only be described as pure adoration and devotion. “But I don't mind hearing it again. Plus, I love you too. Oh, and Asahi?”

“Hm?” He asked, rubbing lazy circles on his sharp hips.

“Can you keep the kakugan activated for this round? It's actually pretty sexy.”

Asahi's hands flew to his face, both to cover the blush that had almost instantly cropped up at Noya's words, and also to hide his exhasperation. “Jesus _christ,_ Yuu.”

“I'm dead serious.”

“I _know.”_

Despite his apparent reservations, though, when Asahi pulled his hands down, his eyes were shining bright with his kakugan in the morning sunlight. Noya's grin was positively sinful.

They were both in for quite the afternoon.

 


End file.
